Question of the Day

Should Trump keep Pence on the ticket in 2020?

ASSOCIATED PRESSTwo of the three Green Berets killed in Afghanistan were remembered yesterday by mourners on opposite sides of the country as men who fulfilled their childhood ambitions of becoming soldiers but whose lives were cut short by the war on terrorism.About 1,200 mourners, some clutching small American flags, gathered at a grassy hilltop cemetery in Bakersfield, Calif., to say farewell to Staff Sgt. Brian "Cody" Prosser.Those who grew up with Sgt. Prosser, 28, said he had a good sense of humor, a dose of playful mischief and an attention to detail."He was a true soldier's soldier," said Capt. Jeff Leopold, his commanding officer, who escaped injury in the fighting. "I had the opportunity to take anyone with me to Afghanistan. Cody raised his hand and said, 'It's going to be me.' He knew it was going to be tough."Sgt. Prosser was one of three Army Special Forces soldiers killed Dec. 5 when a 2,000-pound U.S. bomb missed its target and landed 100 yards from them north of Kandahar. Master Sgt. Jefferson Donald Davis, 39, of Watauga, Tenn., and Sgt. 1st Class Daniel H. Petithory of Cheshire, Mass., were also killed.About 500 people filled St. Mary of the Assumption Church in western Massachusetts to pay their respects to Sgt. Petithory, remembered as an altar boy, a jokester and a patriot."We knew him as a kid who always wanted to be a soldier," said Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat. "We knew him as a kid who became what he always wanted to be."Mr. Kerry said Sgt. Petithory, 32, will receive the Purple Heart and the Silver Star posthumously."He gave his life for his country and for all of us," the Rev. David Raymond told mourners at the church. "He served so terrorism would not rule our world."Army officers presented Sgt. Prosser's widow, Shawna, with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals that her husband was awarded posthumously.Sgt. Prosser's grieving father, also named Brian, delivered a moving tribute to his son, acknowledging his entire family's role in raising a man the whole nation could be proud of.